— A week ago, the Ravens got beat by an old quarterback. On Sunday, they got beat by two rookie quarterbacks, one playing on one leg and the other having thrown only nine passes in his NFL career.

The Ravens are in trouble. Big trouble.

Not only did they lose to arch rival Pittsburgh last Sunday, but then they lost to the uppity Redskins in overtime in the Battle of the Beltway.

Beep, beep, beep.

That's the sound of the Ravens backing into the playoffs.

That might be the only way they get there, especially with the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals left on the schedule.

This is the time of season when the good teams separate themselves from the bad ones. But the Ravens crashed and burned here Sunday blowing another touchdown lead in the fourth quarter.

The good news is that the AFC North is in such a sorry state that both the Bengals and Steelers lost Sunday as the Ravens remained two games ahead in the division race, but the Ravens don't look like a team that can go deep into the playoffs.

They're gasping for air heading to the finish line.

"We should have won this game," Ravens linebacker Paul Kruger said. "It's just a killer to come down here, play a full game and then lose the game like we did, it's rough. We have to do whatever we need to do to get back this week. "

"There is no fear, that is not the word I would use," said Kruger in describing the upcoming schedule. "It's definitely an urgent feeling. We have to win. That's the bottom line. It was the same thing coming in this week, so that just makes it more intense and we have to be clutch these last couple games. We have to make it happen. Our destiny is in our own hands."

After the game, head coach John Harbaugh announced that starting inside linebacker Jameel McClain had suffered a neck injury (initial test were negative), starting guard Marshal Yanda had a sprained ankle and running back Ray Rice was nursing a hip pointer.

This team needs a Medivac.

"I think it will take us handling adversity and that is what you have to do," Harbaugh said. "It was a tough week and we have a tough run with four challenging games. We are fighting through all the things you fight through at this stage of the season as a football team. ... You don't overreact to these things."

No one is overeacting, but you can't be blind to the truth. The same weaknesses are occurring every week now. Pittsburgh quarterback Charlie Batch butchered the Ravens with passes over the middle, and so did Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.

The Ravens linebackers can't cover, safety Ed Reed is nowhere to be found and there isn't anyone to punish receivers after the catch. For the second straight week, the Ravens have allowed long, game deciding drives in the fourth period, and cornerback Chris Johnson lost receiver Pierre Garcon on an 11-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins with 29 seconds left in regulation to set up the tie game.

Just who is Cousins?

He is a fourth round pick out of Michigan State. If he can complete two of two passes for 26 yards in crunch time, then imagine what Peyton and Eli Manning will do.

Oh, this might get ugly.

"It is nothing that we haven't been through before," said Harbaugh, of back-to-back losses. "It is a tough loss and it is going to be a fight to the division championship and that is what we are fighting for right now. We have to bounce back next week with a very good Denver team in our stadium."

It's not just defensive problems, but offensive problems as well. Quarterback Joe Flacco is horribly inconsistent and seems to have hit the ceiling of his career in Baltimore.

He had a strong performance in the first half and wasn't much of a factor in the second except for turnovers. In other words, just another day at the office for Flacco.

His most costly turnover occurred with 5:42 left in the third quarter on third-and-6 at the Washington 11. The Redskins overloaded to one side and outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan blindsided Flacco which resulted in an interception by London Fletcher.

Flacco said he should have thrown to Rice immediately.

"I was enamored trying to get Ray something over there and it was my fault," Flacco said. "It was easy. I should just throw [him] the ball."

Flacco has poor pocket presence. He doesn't know when to get rid of the ball or step up in the pocket. The problem is compounded because Ravens offensive tackles Michael Oher and Kelechi Osemele have problems with speed rushers, and left guard Jah Reid can't stay on his feet.

At least the Ravens stayed with the run Sunday handing the ball off to Rice, but after a while they had no other choice because the Ravens couldn't figure out how to pass block the Redskins.

It's all troubling. Even the special teams, the strength of this team, allowed a 64 yard punt return to set up the game winning field goal.

It's so bad right now, that even Lady Luck has abandoned the Ravens. Maybe they used her up in the first half of the season.

If this continues, the Ravens might have to crawl into the postseason instead of walking in after kicking down the door.

Joe Flacco turned the ball over twice in the third quarter when they were in position to put the game away. The Ravens gave up a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion to somebody named Kirk Cousins in the final minute of the game while super rookie Robert Griffin III was licking his wounds on the sideline. The usually dependable special teams unit gave up a big punt return to set up a game-winning Redskins field goal in overtime.

Sorry for recounting all that unpleasantness, but it’s hard to avoid the obvious. This isn’t the way you want to warm up for back-to-back games against Peyton and Eli Manning. This is not the time of year when you want your offense in a crisis of confidence.

Once again, the Ravens were in a position to lock up the AFC North title and blinked. The only good thing that happened for them on Sunday was that the Cincinnati Bengals came from ahead to lose to the Cowboys, or they would have inched to within a game of first place with a head-to-head meeting looming in Cincinnati in three weeks.

The Ravens were playing without some key players, but this game should have been in the bag well before crunch time. Now, they’re going to need that big emotional lift that should come if Ray Lewis can take the field against the Broncos next week.

Interesting that the Baltimore pundits are so shocked by this loss. The betting odds favored the Skins, and most people were picking Washington to come away with a close victory. And then the game went to overtime. It's not like this was some massive defeat that came out of nowhere.

Were these talking heads not expecting a close game?

"I’m never under the assumption that you draft for need. You draft the best available football player on the board. ... Because, in the long run, they are the ones who will help you win the most games." - Scot McCloughan

Irn-Bru wrote:Interesting that the Baltimore pundits are so shocked by this loss. The betting odds favored the Skins, and most people were picking Washington to come away with a close victory. And then the game went to overtime. It's not like this was some massive defeat that came out of nowhere.

Were these talking heads not expecting a close game?

They. Are. In. Baltimore.

Logic and reason, to the extent that pundits of any kind actually possess it, do not resonate in Charm City. They're idiots.

I know he got a pretty good zip on the ball. He has a quick release. . . once I seen a coupla' throws, I was just like 'Yeah, he's that dude.'"

Irn-Bru wrote:Interesting that the Baltimore pundits are so shocked by this loss. The betting odds favored the Skins, and most people were picking Washington to come away with a close victory. And then the game went to overtime. It's not like this was some massive defeat that came out of nowhere.

Irn-Bru wrote:Interesting that the Baltimore pundits are so shocked by this loss. The betting odds favored the Skins, and most people were picking Washington to come away with a close victory. And then the game went to overtime. It's not like this was some massive defeat that came out of nowhere.

Were these talking heads not expecting a close game?

mmmmm... has the word "arrogance" comes to mind.

Nothing quite so satisfying as the dismayal of the arrogant.

Ding! Ding! Ding!
Winner winner chicken dinner!

Living as close to Baltimore as I do arrogance is the exact word to use.
Maybe if they had a down year or 10 they might be a little different.

Irn-Bru wrote:Interesting that the Baltimore pundits are so shocked by this loss. The betting odds favored the Skins, and most people were picking Washington to come away with a close victory. And then the game went to overtime. It's not like this was some massive defeat that came out of nowhere.

Were these talking heads not expecting a close game?

Concur. They speak as if they are entitled to win every game, and are so shocked if they lose. We were favored....granted by only 1.....but their D is not what it used to be.

We gave them a TD basically on the Morris fumble. RGIII played the the whole game minus three snaps in reg time, and two in OT. We knew Cousins was no Skelton/Beck/poor backup already, but he certainly shined yesterday. And, what does it say about your defense if you "knew" we were going to try a QB sneak on the 2 point conversion, but we were successful anyway?

There were close plays for both teams, plays that could have reshaped the game. At then end of the day, we came out on top. And....I really enjoyed that as there were a lot of Buzzard fans at the stadium who were trying to be loud while we were on offense.....so really good to shut them up for another 3-4 years.

A winning effort begins with preparation.
Failures are expected by losers, ignored by winners.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden came into the game wanting to be in the same conversation as Redskins' rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was the Browns' first choice to be their quarterback of the future.

But by the end, Weeden wasn't even in the same paragraph as fellow rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Redskins' fourth-round pick out of Michigan State who made his first NFL start in place of the injured Griffin (sprained right knee) and lit up the Browns for 329 yards and two TDs on Sunday.

Thanks to a third-quarter meltdown by Weeden that included two interceptions -- one on the second play out of the locker room -- and his fourth batted pass of the game, the Browns lost, 38-21, to the surging Redskins. It snapped a string of three straight victories for the Browns (5-9) and snuffed out their flickering playoff hopes in their home finale. The Redskins (8-6), meanwhile, won their fifth straight to climb into a tie for first place in the NFC East behind a bootleggin', play-fakin' Cousins.

"Obviously I didn't play well enough for us to win," said Weeden. "I didn't play well for the most part throughout. I'm not losing any confidence over it, because I felt like I'm still going in the right direction. I just didn't play well enough to put this team in position to win. I put our defense in a tough spot, once for sure with the one on our side of the field. That one's on me. You just can't turn it over."

Weeden didn't get any sympathy from linebacker and captain D'Qwell Jackson, who took off the kid gloves.

"That's one thing coming out of halftime, defense, offense, that's the most important series of the ballgame and we throw a pick," said Jackson. "You can't do it. You can't turn the ball over like that. I don't care who you are. Then we've got to keep them out of the end zone."

On his second play after the break with the Browns leading, 14-10, Weeden looked for Greg Little over the middle from his own 27 and was picked off by leaping linebacker Rob Jackson, who returned it 17 yards to the Browns' 15. It took Cousins -- and his perfectly executed misdirection plays -- only three plays to get the Skins in the end zone, on a 3-yard run by Alfred Morris that put Washington up for good at 17-14.

"The first (pick), I didn't see him," said Weeden. "Greg threw his hand up, he had his guy beat and they had a little fire zone. My offensive line was blocking right in front of me and I didn't see him."

Next drive, Weeden had his fourth pass of the game batted down, which drew a chorus of boos. The batted-down passes are becoming a huge problem as he leads the league with 21 this season, including seven in the past two weeks.

"I've never had so many batted balls," said Weeden, who was 21-of-35 for 244 yards, one TD and two picks for a 66.8 rating. "If the defensive linemen aren't getting to me, they just kind of stand there, watch my eyes and stick their arms up. I'm trying to throw over guys three yards down the field (on shallow crossing routes) and that can be challenging."

How can he beat the bats?

"I don't really know," he said. "It's been one of our better plays. I don't have an answer for you."

Cousins, who faked and rolled out like a seasoned vet to hit big plays all day, stormed back with the second of his four second-half TD drives, throwing a 2-yard TD pass to Leonard Hankerson, who caught a 54-yarder in the first quarter. The Redskins outscored the Browns, 28-7, in the second half with 18 first downs to the Browns' four.

"Coach (Mike)Shanahan put (Cousins) in a great spot," said Weeden. "He's a good player. Me and Kirk are good buddies. I wasn't expecting any less. They tailored what he does well. It seemed like they were doing nakeds and play-action passes through the middle. He's got great targets and played well. You've got to tip your hat to him. He's a good player and he put his team in a position to win."

Weeden, who was off right from the start when he overthrew Josh Gordon by five yards at the Redskins' 20 on his opening drive, closed out third quarter the same way he opened it: with a pick. This time, he underthrew Little as his elbow got hit and Cleveland native London Fletcher swiped it. Cousins parlayed it into a 4-yard TD run and a 31-14 advantage.

"I took an elbow as I followed through," said Weeden. "I just couldn't get it up and over."

The hit struck a nerve and Weeden was forced to throw with Colt McCoy on the sidelines to shake it off.

"It was (like a funnybone) times about 100," he said.

Never considering coming out, he responded with a beautiful 69-yard strike, hitting Travis Benjamin in stride to make it 31-21, but it was too little, too late. It also didn't help Weeden that the Browns abandoned the run in the second half. Trent Richardson, who criticized the game plan, rushed for two TDs but a total of just 28 yards -- including two totes in the second half for zero yards.

"It's shocking," he said of the two second-half carries. "That's one thing that you've got to tell your family when you go back home: 'The game's much bigger than me.' Coach had the game plan. And whatever he had planned, they just overcame it."

He added: "the game plan we had at the beginning of the game, we should've stuck with it. But we didn't. We were going to do a lot of inside zone game-planning. And we were going to just go off a couple of the draws, and we were just going to do some play-action stuff. And when we did do it, it worked. So we got away from it, and the outcome comes as an 'L'."

The defense had Cousins on the ropes early, and T.J. Ward picked him off on his second drive on a tipped ball by Sheldon Brown. That set up a 6-yard TD run by Richardson the next play. But Cousins responded with the 54-yarder to Hankerson and never looked back.

"As much as Robert (Griffin) wants to show that he can be a pocket passer, which he can, I want to show people that I can move around a little bit, and I think I did that a little bit today," said Cousins, who earned a stellar 104.2 rating.

"He ran the offense like RG3 would run it," said Haden.

Unfortunately for the Browns, Weeden didn't.

Keys to Redskins-Browns1. QB meltdown: Brandon Weeden was off from first drive to last, throwing the game away in the third quarter with two interceptions — including on the second play out of the locker room. The picks both led to TDs for the Redskins. Weeden also had four more batted passes for a league-leading 21, overthrew a wide-open Josh Gordon deep early, and threw the ball away on fourth-and-3.

P A T I E N C E - Scot & Jay's goal here is to make this franchise better - it will take time they understand the need to change to primarily building through the draft - plus have some luck go their way

Joshua Gunter / The Plain DealerCleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson and Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III chat post game Sunday, December 16, 2012 at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland. The Browns lost the game 38-21.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Trent Richardson appeared on his way to a big afternoon, breaking tackles and a Jim Brown franchise record within his first four carries Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

But by the time the Browns' rookie halfback spoke to reporters following a 38-21 loss, he was apologizing to fans for the team's performance and criticizing the coaching staff for abandoning the game plan.

Richardson had 24 yards and a touchdown on his first four carries midway through the first quarter. But Richardson finished with 28 yards on 11 attempts – including just two carries in a second half which failed to gain a yard.

"We [were] ready for the game," Richardson said. "I think we've just got a game plan, and the game plan we had at the beginning of the game, I think we should've stuck with it. But we didn't stick with the game plan and we tried to go do some other stuff, and the outcome came in a different way."

The Browns ran the ball just 15 times as opposed to 35 passes on a day in which they didn't fall behind by two scores until midway through the third quarter. Richardson was asked for his reaction to just a pair of second-half carries.

"It's shocking," he said. "But like I said, the game's much bigger than me. I've got to let coach do what he does."

Richardson broke Brown's single-season mark for touchdowns by a rookie with a 6-yard run in the first quarter in which carried five defenders into the end zone with him. It was his 10th rushing touchdown. He added his 11th rushing TD on a 1-yard run with 1:11 left in the first half to give the Browns a 14-10 lead.

Little did Richardson know it would be his last rushing yard of the afternoon. He watched good friend and fellow rookie Alfred Morris – also from Pensacola, Fla. -- run for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

Richardson felt compelled to apologize to fans.

"Today we let ourselves down and we let the whole city of Cleveland down -- especially, the season-ticket holders," Richardson said, "I feel for bad for them and I want to say as a man, I just want to come to them and apologize because this was the last home game. We're supposed to go out with a blast. It was a big ballgame and we didn't do what we were supposed to do."

It has been frustrating stretch for Richardson, who's playing with damaged rib cartilage. He hasn't rushed for at least 100 yards in his past five games and generated just 42 yards a week ago against Kansas City. Sunday's performance marked the fifth time this season he failed to break the 40-yard mark.

"People are going to game-plan especially to stop me," Richardson said. "Not to say nothing as in a big-headed way, but they're going to try to do anything to stop me because they look at me as I'm catching the ball, too. They're going to try to do anything they can to stop us. I talked to a couple of players from different teams.

"They said 'Our game plan was, we feel like as long as we stop you, we feel like we can beat Cleveland.' And I was just like, 'OK.' "

Welcome home: It took 15 seasons, but London Fletcher finally got to play a regular-season game in his hometown. The Redskins' middle linebacker made an impact, as he almost always does, collecting seven tackles and intercepting Brandon Weeden in the third quarter.

The interception by Fletcher, who bought 43 tickets for friends and family, led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Kirk Cousins that put the Redskins ahead, 31-14. The former John Carroll and Villa Angela-St. Joseph star enjoyed playing in front of friends and family.

"It was big," he said. "It was special to me. I tried to downplay it in my mind, not get too excited about it. But [Saturday] night, when we came in here, we were taking the bus from the airport and the route we took is right through my old neighborhood.

"All the different emotions overcame me. Driving to the stadium and different stuff like that, it started to become even more special to me. I wanted to play well, but even more important than that I wanted us to come out of here with a victory."

Ward, Rucker hurt: Safety T.J. Ward, who picked off Cousins on his second drive on a ball tipped by Sheldon Brown, left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury and didn't return. He was checked on the sidelines, tried to walk around and shake it off, then limped to the locker room. The extent of the injury is unknown and a Browns PR staffer prevented Ward from talking in the locker room. . . . Defensive end Frostee Rucker suffered a groin injury and didn't return.

Swan songs? Two Browns mainstays potentially played their final home game on Sunday. Kicker Phil Dawson and special teams ace Josh Cribbs are free agents and it's unclear if either will return next season.

Cribbs was reportedly emotional after the game and declined an interview. Dawson waved to fans as he left the field and hugged members of this family. "I care about Cleveland and I want them to know how I feel about them," Dawson said of his gesture. "It takes you down a road to say your proper goodbyes, but we don't know what's going to happen. It may very well not be my last game."

In each of the past three seasons Dawson has been uncertain whether the home finale would be his last game in Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"This was the third goodbye," he said jokingly.

Dawson said it was difficult to leave the field seeing "the majority" of remaining fans cheering for the Redskins.

"I know everyone in the locker room feels bad about how we played today," he said. "We've got two more chances to go do our jobs and end the season on the right note."

Dawson kicked two extra points. Cribbs had a busy day returning seven kickoffs and two punts. He also gained 16 yards as quarterback in the wildcat formation.